New migrant caravan bound for US could be the biggest yet
A NEW migrant caravan is preparing to leave Honduras, as President Donald Trump pushes ahead with his government shutdown in a bid to secure funding for a US border wall.
The caravan, which migrant rights advocates estimate could include 15,000 participants, more than double the size of the previous caravan, is said to be preparing to leave Honduras from the city of San Pedro Sula on Jan 15.
A few hundred migrants began the long walk from Honduras to the US in Oct 2018 but had swelled to around 7,000 people by the time it reached the US-Mexico border a month later. Attempts to cross the border this week were met with rounds of tear gas by US border guards, many of whom have gone without pay since the shutdown started three weeks ago.
The caravan became a focal point of America’s midterm elections in November and Mr Trump has insisted Congress approve $5.6billion in funding for a wall along the southern US border. However, Democrats have refused to include money for a wall, instead calling for increased border security funding. The disagreement has brought the US federal government to a standstill for two weeks , because of the failure of Congress and the president to agree a new spending package. Nine government agencies have been impacted including Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury.
White House officials and congressional staffers continued negotiations yesterday, even after Mr Trump declared he could keep the shutdown going for “months or even years”.
The president has directed Vice President Mike Pence, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and adviser Jared Kushner to work over the weekend with the congressional delegation.
The standoff has prompted economic jitters and anxiety among some in Mr Trump’s own party. But the president appeared in the Rose Garden on Friday to frame the weekend talks as “progress”, while making clear he would not reopen the government.
“We won’t be opening until it’s solved,” he said. “I don’t call it a shutdown. I call it doing what you have to do for the benefit and the safety of our country.”
Reports of another large group of Central American migrants preparing to make its way north is likely to cement Mr Trump’s position on a border wall. But some activists have told The Sunday Telegraph that the final destination of the caravan may not be the US but Mexico. The construction of a new 900-mile railway project is expected to generate thousands of jobs in the south of the country.
“It’s possible that many will stay in Mexico, look for work and then try and cross to the US at a later time,” said Karen Spring from The Honduras Solidarity Network, an umbrella group of human rights organisations in the country. “Ultimately, they are looking for economic security, safety, to be reunited with their families, and overall, a life with dignity.”
Mr Trump has previously threatened to cut off foreign aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, the socalled Northern Triangle, if they do not stem the tide of large groups crossing through the countries to reach the US.